Nakawake Earns Don Mackenzie Scholarship Award

2020 Don Mackenzie Scholarship Award - South Coast Conference Release

El Camino College softball sophomore Mina Nakawake was named a recipient of the Don Mackenzie Scholarship Award, the South Coast Conference announced Tuesday.

Nakawake and Pasadena City College swimmer Jonathan Olvera were the 2019-20 recipients of the $1,000 scholarship award.

The Warriors' standout became the fourth student-athlete from ECC to earn the award since its inception in 2007. Warriors baseball athlete Taylor Rashi and softball standout Brigid Antonelli swept the award for ECC in the 2016-17 season while swimmer Cindy Ngo was a recipient in 2016-17.

The Mackenzie Scholarships annually go to sophomore student-athletes who exhibit strong academics and high performance on the field of play. In some cases, the student-athletes chosen are ones who also have overcome obstacles and involve themselves in community service. The awards honor the memory of Mackenzie, the long-time SCC commissioner from 1979 until his passing in 2004.

Nakawake was batting at team-best .475 for the Warriors prior to the stoppage of the 2020 softball season after 20 games due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Nakawake was also named to the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association (3CFCA) Academic All-State Team in April.

She finished the 2020 season with 29 hits, seven doubles, three triples, a home run and 20 runs scored. For her career, Nakawake played in 62 games and batted .401 with 67 hits, nine doubles, five triples, 22 RBI, 34 stolen bases and 47 runs scored. She was named to the All-SCC First Team and 3CFCA All-SoCal Team as a freshman in 2019.

Nakawake held a 4.0 GPA at ECC and will be moving on to continue her education at Long Beach State University. A communications major, she worked as an intern at UCLA softball games. She also worked previously at Happy Hats for Kids in Hospitals, an organization that helped serve pediatric cancer patients.